FROM EIR DAILY ALERT
President Trump at UN Delivers ‘Global Call to Action on the World Drug Problem’
Sept. 24, 2018 (EIRNS)—In stark contrast with his predecessor Barack Obama, President Donald Trump convoked a meeting at the United Nations today on the subject of coordinating action against the drug trade. Britain’s legalization champions fumed.
President Trump thanked the 31 countries present at the United Nations’ “Global Call to Action on the World Drug Problem” event today, and especially thanked UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres for attending as the group’s special guest. These 31 host nations have taken “critical steps” to combat the global drug problem, he said.
He pointed to the 2018 World Drug Report, which highlights that cocaine and opium production have hit record highs, and that global deaths caused by drug use increased by 60% from 2000 to 2015—a rise of 60% in 15 years.
The U.S. President also pointed to the destructive side effects caused by trade in illicit drugs: their links to organized crime; illegal financial flows; corruption; and terrorism. It is vital
“for public health, and for national security, that we fight drug addiction and stop all forms of trafficking and smuggling that provide the financial lifeblood for vicious transnational cartels,”
Trump said.
He praised aggressive actions against drugs by individual nations, citing the U.S. securing its border; supporting law enforcement; devoting “record funding to the opioid crisis, and promoting treatment and recovery,” and said that many other nations are doing so.
He pointed to Colombia’s newly-elected President Ivan Duque, who (although a proponent of Wall Street liberal economic policies) campaigned on an anti-drug platform. Trump said the U.S. looks forward to “partnering with his new administration to eradicate coca production in his country.”
With such initiatives in mind, in August the U.S. announced a “Global Call to Action on the World Drug Problem.” The call is simple: reduce drug demand; cut off the supply of illicit drugs; expand treatment; and strengthen international cooperation. “By taking these steps together we can save the lives of countless people in all corners of the world ... millions and millions of people,” the U.S. President insisted.
Altogether, 124 countries have signed up to support President Trump’s plan for action against mind-killing drugs.
